Broadcaster lost big match with Sky over failure to entice viewers

SETANTA’S attempt to throw down the gauntlet to BSkyB and muscle in on Premier League football was always a risky move.

But the downfall of the firm – founded almost 20 years ago to show Irish sport to ex-pats – eventually came down to a simple numbers game.

It overpaid for a host of television rights at the top of the market, and ran out of money when it failed to attract enough subscribers and advertising suffered in a bleak economic climate.